1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed circuit board, a method of manufacturing a printed circuit board, and an electronic apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Since techniques of multilayer printed circuit board and mounting a component have been developed, it becomes possible to downsize a printed circuit board (cf. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Number 2003-264369, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 7,036,214). The downsizing of the printed circuit board, however, makes it difficult to provide a sufficient ground (GND) area to a printed circuit board for a large current circuit, which is for example a board for a switching-mode power supply. In such a case, it is difficult to flow a return current sufficiently. As a result, there arises a difficulty associated with aggravating electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). One method for addressing the above difficulties is that a GND pattern of a printed circuit board is connected to, for example, a metal body by using an on-board connection to provide a sufficient GND area.
In the above method, however, it is necessary to increase screw holes placed on the printed circuit board, and it is necessary to place a spring or an on-board contact on the printed circuit board. Thus the above manner reverses the downsizing of the printed circuit board, and in addition, leads to an increase in manufacturing cost.